There are many books with the title, "Chop Wood, Carry Water". It is difficult to attribute this philosophy to any one of them. It is actually an age-old Zen story. This is the way I heard it.

There was a master teacher and his student. A couple of his student chores were to chop wood and carry water. This student did these chores diligently everyday for many years.

One day, the master announced to the student that he had reached another level of higher consciousness. The student replied, “What do I do now?”

The master answered, “Chop wood and carry water.”

Why do I tell this story? Up here, wood is like gold. It is the main source of heat for people in the winter. However, you can’t wait ’til winter to prepare it.

A friend of mine has a dad in his 90’s. She tells me he still splits his wood by hand. Incredible!